It is possible to manufacture press-hardened products displaying very high strength. One common field of application is in the vehicle industry and it is possible to control deformation and reduce the risk of crack formation in the event of a collision by providing the product with softer portions having a lower yield point than the rest of the product. WO 2006/038868 describes the use of gaps and EP 1 715 066 A1 and DE 10 2005 032113 B3 describe the heating of selected portions of the cooled tool pair. In both cases, the cooling rate of the selected portions during the press-hardening operation is reduced, resulting in softer portions. According to EP 1 180 470 B1, softer portions are obtained by preventing these portions from being heated to the austenitising temperature in the furnace or by cooling them by air blowing before the press-hardening operation.